In response to the Oct. 15 edition of The Citizen, I found myself reading what I describe as the "articles of confusion." I found it confusing to read an article about Goodrich hiring back the village manager that was forced out the very same year of her rehire when a total of 17 had applied for the position. And then followed it up with the reading of an opinion article by one of the supporting members who was against the rehire before he was for it. At the same time the position has been unfilled for seven months while they waited on a Plante & Moran report, but Goodrich continued to function.

Then there is the letter by Brandon Township Treasurer Terry Beltramo, which in my opinion is a politician who gets it.

His proposal to basically audit the township by mandated and non-mandated functions for public view is unheard of from regular public officials. And yet we are reminded that he is leaving at the end of his term. I suppose I can understand his desire to leave. Through my own observations to date, I firmly believe that Brandon Township has a flawed government. I believe that many of its members act on a self-serving basis rather than what is best for the good of all residents. They are thinking like individual homeowners rather than like business managers who must consider what is best for the business as a "whole." As Terry has mentioned, this township has exhausted all its resources, and for what? We can't meet our budget obligations, we can't pay the people who work for the township, we can no longer maintain our roads, we cannot afford to maintain current police and fire protection levels Ė need I go on. Brandon Township is not alone in its suffering. However, there are townships that aren't suffering at all. In times like this, the last thing I want to hear is people paid by taxpayer money clamoring for higher taxes because they have mismanaged the budget.

I do not want to give the impression that I presume to know everything. On the contrary, that is precisely why I find these forementioned articles confusing as I am not an insider so I only know what I have observed. The same holds true for Brandon Township. What I have observed through various meetings and articles to date is very confusing to me. What does make sense to me is that someone who is governing in the best interest of all residents would find it undesirable to be in a position that finds their efforts continuously undermined or ignored, especially if they do not have to be there. When our elected officials operate in a self-serving manner with other people's money it is time to rethink one's method for choosing elected officials. In general, I believe that voters should bear the responsibility for what befalls them (moreso those who don't show up to vote at all). Apathy is a taxpayer's foremost enemy.